Assistant Manager New Product Development

Job Description Assistant Manager – New Product Development (NPD)

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Assistant Manager – NPD with expertise in health foods to lead the development of innovative, high-quality plant-based products. The role is responsible for end-to-end product development, including formulation, ingredient selection, pilot trials, fssai approvals for new products, scale-up, commercialisation, and continuous product improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of new health and wellness products from concept to commercial launch.
• Select and evaluate ingredients.
• Conduct laboratory trials, pilot batches, and production-scale validation.
• Improve product taste, texture, mouthfeel, mixability, solubility, and overall product performance.
• Ensure formulations meet nutritional targets, label claims, and cost objectives.
• Coordinate production scale-up and technology transfer to manufacturing.
• Work closely with Production team during product commercialization.
• Develop and maintain formulation documents, product specifications, SOPs and technical documentation.
• Conduct stability studies and recommend formulation improvements based on test results.
• Identify and evaluate new ingredients, flavours, and packaging solutions.
• Troubleshoot formulation and manufacturing challenges and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with FSSAI regulations, GMP, HACCP, and internal quality standards.
• Monitor market trends and competitor products to identify new product opportunities and innovative ingredients.

Qualifications

• B.Tech/M.Tech in Food Technology, Food Science, Nutrition, Biotechnology, or a related discipline.
• M.Sc. in Food Science or Nutrition is an added advantage.

Experience

• 3-5 years of hands-on experience in food formulation and development.
• Experience in plant-based ingredients is highly preferred.
• Proven experience in taking products from concept to commercial production.

Required Skills

• Strong expertise in protein powder formulation and product development.
• In-depth knowledge of plant proteins (Pea, Rice, Soy, etc.) and protein ingredient functionality.
• Experience in flavour balancing, sweetener systems, mixability, solubility, and texture optimization.
• Knowledge of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibers, and functional ingredients used in protein powders.
• Good understanding of manufacturing processes.
• Strong knowledge of GMP, HACCP, FSSAI, and food safety regulations.
• Ability to conduct laboratory evaluations, pilot trials, and production validations.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Proficiency in MS Office and technical documentation.

Preferred Industry

• Plant-Based Protein Manufacturing
• Sports Nutrition
• Nutraceuticals
• Health Supplements